A man who viewed films of child abuse to relieve "stress" has been sent on a rehabilitation course.

Police found nearly 100 videos of children as young as "five or six" being sexually abused when they seized Kalim Khan's laptop computer in a search of his home in Plimsoll Way, Victoria Dock, on November 21 last year.

They had received information that indecent images of children were being downloaded from a computer registered to his address.

Forensic examination of the device revealed 54 videos at Category A - the most serious - 12 at Category B, and 27 Category C videos. There was also one still Category B image, and five Category C images.

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Phillip Evans, prosecuting, told Hull Crown Court of the videos: "Some of these are excerpts which lasted for a second or two, but there are other examples which lasted for a quarter of an hour. There is evidence that very young children were involved; in some of these images as young as five or six years of age."

Kalim Khan: Had 'revolting' films of child abuse on his computer

After reading a police summary of the material, which he did not want aired in open court, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Khan: "I can scarcely believe that a man like you, aged 32, from a responsible background, holding down a responsible job, who is intelligent, and has a decent family life, can do as you did in this case, by viewing for your own sexual gratification material of the kind that a few moments ago I read about."

Mr Evans said when Khan was interviewed at a police station, he made "immediate admissions to possession of the images. I should add there's no question of distribution or anything of that nature".

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Khan also admitted the material "had been used as a sexual stimulus". He pleaded guilty to three offences of making indecent images of children.

Silas Reid, for Khan, said family photographs and work documents were also on the computer, and he would pay for them to be recovered under police supervision, which the judge said should be allowed to happen.

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Mr Reid told the judge that Khan, who arrived in the UK from Pakistan in 1996, had told him when he was "stressed" he would "retreat into himself and behave in the way your honour sees".

But he said Khan had since sought help, had been on a "short course", and had taken the "first steps to understanding his behaviour and dealing with it".

"What really is important is that he doesn't commit these offences again," Mr Reid said. There would be "zero chance" of him getting any help if he was sent to jail, he said.

The judge told Khan: "This is not a victimless crime. The criminality was you having this material on your computer. But there were victims; they were young children. Just think for a moment, the abuse that was revealed in these images, both moving and still images, was revolting.

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"How a man like you can derive any form of sexual pleasure from that almost defies understanding."

Khan was sentenced to a three-year community order, and must attend 35 sessions of the Northumbria group sex offender programme, have up to 40 days rehabilitation, and must pay £400 prosecution costs within 28 days.

Judge Richardson said he would monitor his progress, and warned him: "If you in any way disengage from the programme then I'm afraid back you will come before me and prison it will be - that I can guarantee."

Khan must register as a sex offender for five years, and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.